General Cycling Discussion - Portland 2/07: a tale of two rides (w/pics)

It is amazing that in February here in the NW we have the choice of either going for a grueling climbing road ride, or an epic mountain bike ride deeper in the hills.

Facing this tough choice, I decided to do both! This Saturday a few friends from work and I had planned on a super climbing ride in the west hills outside Portland. It had been unusually dry and sunny for the last week for early February, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to put some vertical miles in. We met at 10:00, and noticed a few clouds coming in. 10 minutes after we started the ride the rain started sprinkling down, but it was still bearable. But being Oregonians we knew that sprinkles are just the beginning of rain. After another 15 minutes it did indeed become full on rain, and we were getting soaked. 37 degrees and raining isn't too fun. We were actually dreading every downhill because it was only making us colder. We finished the ride, however, and quickly proceeded to our respective warm showers.

Sunday I got word from my adrenaline junkie friends that Mt. Hood was rained on last night, so we decided to take our mountain bikes up to Syncline trail just across the river from Hood River. This turned out to be a very wise decision, as the drier climate over there provided excellent trail conditions. What a refreshing change of pace from our usual winter routine. There were plenty of cars at the trailhead, and everyone had friendly faces.

First, the wet, rainy, grueling, yet somehow enjoyable road ride:

Rolling along Skyline with a smile...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/gonesh9/skyline1.jpg

Wet...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/gonesh9/skyline2.jpg

At the top of Germantown climb...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/gonesh9/topofgermantown.jpg

Next is Sunday's mountain bike ride. Notice the drastic environmet difference:

Paul climbing...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/gonesh9/sinkline1.jpg

I climbed more then yesterday, but happy to be dry today.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/gonesh9/sinkline2.jpg

Drier climate...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/gonesh9/sinkline6.jpg

Mt. Hood glorious in the background...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/gonesh9/sinkline5.jpg

I grew up in Stumptown and it's always nice to see pics. It looks like not all of it has been overbuilt. The lack of snow or cold weather by Hood is surprising.

Very nice pics.

I hate cycling on skyline, but I'm glad someone does. In fact, I see cyclists there all the time. I would like to note the absence of a significant shoulder, which is a bit frustrating on those curves.

Your last few pics make me want to pick up mountain biking again. I also wish I'd gone out more when the weather was nice now that it's rainy again :(

EDIT: Nice out today though :D

Nice pics. Also nice stuff on bicycle-eye. I didn't have a chance to read it all, but it looked really fun and interesting.

Dude, I'm jealous. I was dying to get out to Forest Park or Powell Butte on Sunday for a short ride, but I'd already told my family I'd join them for some super bowl fun, and I was helping a friend move before that.

The weather might not be that good again for another month or two.

Ciao Gonesh,
Good to see you are out riding, thanks for the report. I wished that the trails were closer to town....
Sunday I biked to Powell Butte to check out the trails there...not much but at list I did a few turns in the dirt before heading home to go with the family to a Superbowl party.
Saturday I was thinking to go boarding, but not in the rain, so I waited till it stopped and went out for a little ride on Mt. Tabor.
Ciao
Paolo